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Los Angeles, Osaka or Singapore: Choosing Your Route Out of China

Why the closest server isn't always fastest from China, when High Speed (Los Angeles) is right, and when Ultra (Osaka or Singapore) is worth 2.5x data.

Updated October 2026.

The short answer

Most people in China should use High Speed, our Los Angeles route. It counts data at the normal rate and suits video calls, streaming and everything else; we recommend it for about 95% of people. Choose Ultra (Osaka or Singapore) only for real-time work where delay matters, such as remote desktop or SSH, because it counts 2.5 times the data.

Table of contents

Why isn't the closest server always the fastest from China?

On a map, Osaka and Singapore are much closer to Shanghai or Shenzhen than Los Angeles is. So it seems obvious that a server in Japan or Singapore should be faster. From mainland China, it often isn't.

The reason is the path, not the distance. International traffic leaves China over a limited set of links run by China Telecom, China Unicom and China Mobile. Some of those paths are standard and crowded, especially in the evening. Others are premium networks that carriers sell to businesses and data centres. A server across the Pacific reached over a premium path can beat a server next door reached over a crowded one.

Older public measurements point the same way:

  • ThousandEyes, about February 2017. From test agents in China, traffic to US websites saw on average 6.9% packet loss. From Hong Kong, right next to mainland China, it was 0.2%. ThousandEyes concluded that "geographic distance is not the only factor impacting performance from China" (ThousandEyes, about 2017).
  • APNIC blog, August 2020. A University of California, Riverside study found that in 71% of cases the bottleneck for traffic coming into China sat "deep in China", not at the undersea cables (APNIC, 2020).

Both studies are years old. They are useful because they explain the pattern, not because their numbers describe today.

What this means in practice: when you choose a route, you are really choosing a path into China, and the city at the end of it matters less than how well that path is built.

What is the difference between High Speed and Ultra?

Throughwire offers two kinds of route out of China, called lanes:

High SpeedUltra
Exit cityLos AngelesOsaka or Singapore
How data counts1x (normal)2.5x (10 GB on Ultra uses 25 GB)
Typical round trip from ShanghaiAbout 90 msAbout 30 to 55 ms (Osaka), about 65 to 95 ms (Singapore)
Best forVideo calls, streaming, browsing, downloads, everythingRemote desktop, SSH and remote development, chatty databases and APIs, calls where every millisecond counts
Who should use itAbout 95% of peoplePeople whose work is real-time and sensitive to delay

The round-trip figures are the typical values our app shows for people in Shanghai. They are not a measurement for your connection, and we have not published measured latency yet. Notice that Singapore is not much quicker than Los Angeles from Shanghai; it can suit people further south. The setup menu on a router (below) shows the real figure from where you are.

Two points people often miss:

  • Chinese services never use your Throughwire data, on either lane. WeChat, Alipay, Taobao, Douyin and other Chinese services go direct on your normal connection, so a route choice only affects international traffic such as Google, Zoom, Slack, Netflix or ChatGPT.
  • Ultra counts 2.5 times for everything that goes through it. An hour-long video call or a large download on Ultra uses two and a half times the allowance it would on High Speed.

Does lower delay mean faster downloads?

No. Delay (how long a round trip takes) and speed (how much data per second) are different things.

  • Delay matters most when you are typing or clicking into something far away: a remote desktop, a terminal session, a database that answers many small questions in a row, or a fast back-and-forth conversation. Each action waits for a round trip, so 30 to 55 ms instead of about 90 ms is noticeable.
  • Speed matters most for big things: streaming, downloads, uploads and cloud backups. A video stream barely notices an extra 80 ms.

Our own figures point the same way: High Speed customers reached higher top speeds. In our network data for the 30 days to 19 October 2026, the median High Speed customer's top speed was 80 Mbps outside the evening peak and 50 Mbps during it (19:00 to 23:59 China time). On Ultra, the same figures were 55 and 35 Mbps, from a much smaller group of customers. Over the whole day, the median customer's top speed was 85 Mbps on High Speed and 90 Mbps across all routes, and at least 20 customers reached or beat 335 Mbps in confirmed readings (see our network stats).

So Ultra is the low-delay lane, not the "faster downloads" lane.

Which route should you choose for what you do?

What you doRecommended routeWhy
Video calls on Zoom, Teams, Google Meet or WhatsAppHigh SpeedWorks well for calls and counts data at the normal rate.
Streaming YouTube, Netflix or SpotifyHigh SpeedStreaming needs steady speed, not low delay.
Browsing, email, Google Workspace, Microsoft 365High SpeedEveryday work; Ultra would cost 2.5x the data for little gain.
Large downloads, uploads and cloud backupsHigh SpeedHigher top speeds in our data, and 1x data.
Remote desktop to a computer outside ChinaUltraEvery click waits for a round trip, so lower delay feels much smoother.
SSH, remote development, cloud consolesUltraTyping into a remote terminal is very sensitive to delay.
Chatty databases and APIsUltraMany small requests in a row add up quickly at higher delay.
Calls where every millisecond counts (live interpreting, trading desks)UltraLower delay keeps the conversation natural.
Fast online gamesTry bothIt depends on where the game's servers are. Test each at the time you usually play.
A whole home or office on a routerHigh SpeedEveryone's international traffic uses the route, so 1x data matters.
Not sureHigh SpeedIt is the recommended default for about 95% of people.

If you do a mix, you do not have to choose once and for all. In the apps you can keep both and switch for the hour you need Ultra.

How do you switch routes in the app?

High Speed is your normal Throughwire profile. Ultra is a separate profile, so adding it does not replace anything.

  1. Sign in to your Throughwire account and open the app setup section.
  2. Open the Ultra section and choose Osaka or Singapore.
  3. Confirm the 2.5x notice. We ask on purpose, so nobody starts using Ultra by accident.
  4. Add it to the app. On a phone, tap the button to open it in Hiddify. On a computer, copy the link and paste it into Hiddify as a new profile, the same way you added High Speed.
  5. Switch between profiles in Hiddify whenever you need to. Use Ultra for the remote session or the call, then switch back to High Speed to save data.

The same subscription works in V2Box on Mac, v2rayN on Windows and Shadowrocket on iPhone if you prefer those apps.

How do you change the route on a router?

A Throughwire router uses one route for the whole network. The choice is made near the end of setup.

  1. Create a new one-time router code in your Throughwire account.
  2. Re-run the setup command from a Mac (Terminal) or Windows (PowerShell) laptop connected to the router's Wi-Fi, and enter the code and the router's admin password.
  3. Choose your route from the menu. The menu lists Los Angeles, Osaka and Singapore, each with the latency measured from your router at that moment. Los Angeles is recommended and preselected.
  4. Let setup finish. It tests the connection before it completes.

Because every device on the router uses the chosen route, Ultra on a router counts 2.5 times for the whole home or office's international traffic. For most households and offices, Los Angeles is the right choice. If one person needs Ultra for remote work, they can add the Ultra profile in the app on their own laptop instead. Our router setup guide covers the rest of the setup.

Are these routes for people in Los Angeles, Osaka or Singapore?

No. All three are exits for people inside mainland China. Your traffic leaves China, reaches the international internet in Los Angeles, Osaka or Singapore, and goes on to Google, Zoom or wherever it is going.

They are not a service for people who live in those cities, and they are not designed to give you a local address for a particular country's apps or content. Streaming and other services apply their own account and region rules.

When Throughwire isn't the right choice

  • You live outside mainland China. Throughwire is built for getting out of China. Elsewhere, an ordinary VPN or no VPN at all is a better fit.
  • You need a contracted latency figure. We show typical round trips and measure from your router during setup, but we do not guarantee latency or speed. Companies that need contracted performance for internal systems should look at a licensed cross-border line; our guide to office internet options in China explains the choices.
  • You want Ultra all day on a small plan. Ultra counts 2.5 times, so heavy all-day use on a small allowance runs out quickly. Use High Speed by default, or choose a larger plan.

Common questions

Is a Japan server faster than a US server from China?

It depends on the path, not the map. Our Osaka route typically has a shorter round trip (about 30 to 55 ms from Shanghai against about 90 ms for Los Angeles), but in our data High Speed customers reached higher top speeds. Choose Osaka for delay-sensitive work, Los Angeles for everything else.

What is the lowest-latency route out of China?

Of our routes, Osaka typically shows the shortest round trip from eastern China. On a router, the setup menu measures the latency of each route from your own connection, which is the best way to compare from where you are.

Will Ultra make my video calls better?

For most calls, High Speed is enough and costs less data. Ultra can help when the conversation is very fast-paced or the other side is in Asia. Try a call on each and keep whichever feels better.

Can I use High Speed and Ultra at the same time?

In the apps, you keep both as separate profiles and switch between them. A router uses one route for the whole network; to change it, re-run setup.

Does my route change which Chinese apps work?

No. Chinese services such as WeChat, Alipay and Taobao go direct on your normal connection whichever route you choose, and they do not use your Throughwire data.

Details for your IT team

  • High Speed (Los Angeles) connects into China over China Telecom's premium CN2 GIA route. We do not claim CN2 GIA for the Osaka or Singapore routes.
  • Billing: Ultra traffic is counted at 2.5 times. Destinations identified as China-local bypass the tunnel and are not counted.
  • Latency: the app shows typical values; the router setup menu measures latency to each route from the router itself. We have not published measured latency, jitter or packet loss yet.
  • Speed figures: server telemetry, network stats methodology 1.3.0, 30 days to 19 October 2026. Ultra figures come from a much smaller group of customers than High Speed.
  • Profiles: each lane is a separate subscription profile in the app. Router setups use the lane chosen in the setup menu.